Painted Buntings For Obama

This post has been a long time coming. I took this photo back in February, when I first came across this sign. The painted bunting is a bird that is not normally seen in Maryland. I was intrigued. The Obama supporters who posted the sign obviously had some birding experience. I held off posting the picture because I didn't want to jinx Obama.



The months went by. I kept going back to the spot where this sign was, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive painted bunting. I brought my binoculars and waited. Sometimes there were other bird watchers there, and so I would talk to them while we waited. I never saw the painted bunting, but I did get to see Obama. It was at the University of Maryland, in College Park. He gave a good speech and I felt the tides turning. Like so many people out there, I am excited for this country to move forward. We'll see what happens in the fall. Don't forget to register to vote, if you haven't already.

The creativity of my fellow Americans has always impressed and inspired me. As I said back on one of my last bike tour posts, The View From Day 95:

This is a large and fragrant country. Our people are creative and resourceful. We are proud and free, kind and caring. We are young and old, wise but sometimes foolish, diverse but sometimes afraid to embrace our own diversity. There is great beauty and great promise here, but there is also greed and pollution. This is a large and fragrant country, hard to define but easy to enjoy.